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Chizzy impresses as England go through to World Cup quarters
HOLDERS England, featuring Dave Chisnall, cruised through to the quarter-finals of the Betway World Cup of Darts without dropping a single leg, as The Netherlands needed a doubles victory to progress.
The team of Adrian Lewis and Chisnall continued their campaign for a record fifth World Cup title with relatively easy victories over South African pair of Devon Petersen and Dean Oliver.
Lewis was the first to get a point on the board, beating Petersen 4-0 in Frankfurt.
The Englishman only averaged 87.13 but did hit 50% of his attempts at doubles, including a 118 finish.
“We didn’t want it to go to doubles tonight, so I had to get the job done to start and then Dave had to finish it off,†said Lewis.
“It’s a massive bonus for us that we get on so well, we’re up there and have a good laugh and just relax.
“We’re here as a team and I really do think we’ve got a great chance of winning this," added the 32-year-old from Stoke.
Chisnall also wrapped up a 4-0 whitewash win over Oliver as England raced to a 2-0 victory.
“Adrian made that easy for me because he won the first game so the pressure was off me and I could relax.
“I’ve been relaxed all week and I’m really enjoying this so far, hopefully I can carry on enjoying it on Sunday," concluded Chisnall.
England will face Austria in the last eight today after Mensur Suljovic steamrolled John Part 4-0 to set up a comfortable victory for his country.
The Austrian was steady throughout and didn’t give his Canadian opponent a single shot at a double.
Suljovic’s partner Rowby-John Rodriguez also eased past his opponent John Norman Jnr and Austria cruised in to the quarter-finals.
Tournament favourites The Netherlands were pushed to a doubles decider after Larry Butler defeated Raymond van Barneveld in style.
World Number One Michael van Gerwen was made to work for his 4-2 win over America’s Darin Young.
Young missed two darts at doubles in the opening leg of the match to break the van Gerwen throw, before missing more in the third to do the same.
With the match on throw going in to the sixth leg of the encounter, Van Gerwen hit a 140 and a 134 to leave him a dart at tops, which he took at the second attempt.
In the second match, Butler upset the odds to beat five-time Champion of the World van Barneveld to take the match to a doubles clash.
Butler raced in to a 3-0 lead taking out 120 and then 109 in the second and third legs to take control.
Van Barneveld mustered a fightback to close the gap to a single leg before missing the bullseye for a 130 finish to draw level.
However, the American then pinned a delightful 95 finish on the bullseye to wrap up what seemed an unlikely victory.
In the doubles, the Dutch pairing showed their class in the doubles - averaging 111.33 to seal the victory and book a last eight meeting with host nation Germany.
“Neither of us were at our best in the singles, but we showed our class in the pairs,†said van Gerwen.
“We are the favourites for this tournament and we have to start acting like favourites. I can’t wait to play Germany tomorrow and I believe we can go on to win thisâ€
Van Barneveld added: “I’ve known Larry for a long time and he is a great player. I’m just glad we got over the line the doubles.â€
The German team booked a place in the quarter-finals for a third time in the tournaments history, after defeating debutants Brazil 2-0.
Martin Schindler had no trouble in defeating Alexandre Sattin 4-0 in Frankfurt to put Germany in a commanding position.
Former World Youth Champion Max Hoop then delivered an impressive 4-1 win as he confirmed Germany’s victory, including a delightful first leg 161 finish.
“The whole country is behind us. This is such an amazing feeling to be playing in a home world cup,†said Max Hopp after his victory.
“We were really nervous before the game, we don’t want to let our country down and none of the teams here want to do that either.â€
"We act like a team, we travel together as a team and we want to win as a team. We are both young and this is such an amazing experience.†Added the 20-year-old German.
The Singapore pairing of Paul Lim and Harith Lim produced another excellent display to move in to the last eight.
The Singapore team took on Spain hoping to repeat the performance that saw them defeat number one seeds Scotland on the opening night.
A doubles match was needed to separate the teams after Paul Lim beat Antonio Alcinas 4-0 before Cristo Reyes overcame Harith Lim in a 4-1 victory.
The Singapore duo showed their class in the decider, punishing Spain for some sloppy darts and missed double, running out 4-0 winners in the end.
“We are so happy. Beating Scotland was amazing and to win again today with the crowd singing our names was incredible.†Said 63-year-old Paul Lim.
When questioned on whether they could go another step closer to the title Lim was adamant in his approach.
“We’ll take it one step at a time. Scotland and Spain are great teams and so are Belgium so we will just see what happens.â€
Singapore will face Belgium who made it in to the quarter-finals despite Kim Hubrechts missing 17 darts at doubles as he overcame Ioannis Selachoglou 4-2 to give Belgium a 1-0 lead.
Ronny Huybrecths then sealed Belgium’s path in to the quarter-finals with a stunning 4-0 victory over John Michael.
The 115.62 was the highest ever average by a Belgium on television and the brothers will now face… in the last eight.
“He was brilliant, it’s a different setup today and the singles worked for us. He had a 115 average, so if he can do that for the whole tournament I can put my feet up,†said younger brother Kim.
Ronny, who has made two Pro Tour finals in the last eight months, spoke of needing to be more consistent.
“I can play matches like that but then average 80 in the next game. It’s all in my head and I know when I’m playing well and finding the treble with the first dart, I can be dangerous.â€
Mark Webster helped move Wales in to Sunday’s final day of action, taking out 81 on the bull to see off William O’Connor in a 4-3 win.
Earlier, Gerwyn Price had given Wales a winning start in their encounter with the Republic of Ireland as he overcame Mick McGowan 4-3 despite missing eight match darts.
The match needed a last leg decider where both players missed a handful of match darts, including five from McGowan before Price eventually pinned double two for the victory.
“It got a bit messy and we just about managed to get over the line.†Said Webster after his victory.
“It’s nice to play well and win but its sometimes it’s good to win when you’ve played badly,†added his partner Gerwyn Price.
Wales will face Russia as they upset the odds to take out fifth seeds Australia in a doubles decider.
Alexandr Oreshkin caused a shock as he defeated Kyle Anderson 4-2 in the opening match of the tie.
This left Simon Whitlock, still nursing an injured wrist, to level the score by beating Boris Koltsov 4-1.
The Russian pair then confirmed the victory in the doubles, with Oreshkin taking out 81 on the bull for a 3-0 lead before Koltsov sealed an unlikely whitewash win.
The £300,000 tournament concludes today, with the afternoon session's quarter-finals followed in the evening session by the semi-finals and final